The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to.death.

--Steven Pressfield

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

--Beverly Sills

Stop whining.

--Cathy Seipp

October 8, 2012

"Giving Back"

That phrase is a pet peeve. I've been intending to post about it, but wound up commenting:

1. After I accepted this phrase for years, some time ago it triggered a double take. It’s been an irritant ever since.

2. When I did volunteer work, I did not perceive it as repayment of an obligation; in fact, I would have been less likely to do it had it been so presented.

Afaic philanthropy is commendable, but its least commendable forms are philanthropy performed out of social pressure or for self-promotion. Even philanthropy performed for tax advantages strikes me as preferable to the foregoing.